


Lisa's Halloween Party

by WarriorNamedYukina



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cookies, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Halloween, I'm just looking for stuff to tag at this point, Indirect Kisses, Lisa is trying so hard, Mentioned Roselia (BanG Dream!), Pillow Fights, Pre-Relationship, Rimi and Misaki are just friends here, but you can interpret it as a relationship if you want, fleeting, i think it is at least?, no betas we die like men, no established relationships besides tsuguran maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorNamedYukina/pseuds/WarriorNamedYukina
Summary: It's Halloween night, and Lisa wants to throw a party for all her friends. Trying to get Yukina to do anything but write music is difficult, however. Despite Roselia's vocalist not making an appearance, the show must go on! Lisa is determined to make the party fun and exciting for everybody who attends.
Relationships: Hazawa Tsugumi/Mitake Ran, Hikawa Sayo/Shirokane Rinko, Imai Lisa/Minato Yukina, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	Lisa's Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> Happy late Halloween! I wanted to post this Halloween night, but I was way too tired after partying hard B) so hopefully this contribution to the fandom helps.  
> I've never used this website before, please go easy on me, lol

Yukina didn’t want to spend Halloween night doing anything but writing music. Despite the rest of the world celebrating the one day of the year that people could dress up and collect candy, Yukina Minato didn’t want to let up on her duties as the leader of Roselia. Shutting her curtains and turning off all her lights other than a lamp on her desk, she was ready to shut out the rest of the world and get some work done. 

Her plans changed when she got a call. The ringer broke her focus, causing her to sigh as she shifted her hand to grab the phone. Raising it to her ear, Yukina had a straight expression plastered upon her face. 

“Yukina~✩!” 

Unsurprisingly, Lisa was the one calling. 

“Lisa,” she responded coolly. “I’m writing lyrics right now. Surely you remember me saying that was my plan for the evening?”

The vocalist for Roselia made it clear earlier in the day that she was going to spend the evening writing. After going to classes and not making much progress, she decided that she’d spend the night doing something she was much more confident in. Yukina may not have known her history or her mathematics that well, but she knew the ins and outs of songwriting better than anyone else she knew. 

“I know, I know,” Lisa said from the other end, “but you really should come over! I’m throwing a house party tonight for Halloween and it won’t be the same without you here!”

Yukina sighed. She had no intention of going to any party, let alone at Lisa’s place. She knew how popular her childhood friend was-- there was no telling how crowded the party would be. 

“Not tonight,” Yukina insisted. “I’m busy with the band. You’ll be glad I spent the night working instead of partying.”

Though she expected Lisa to be disappointed, instead the bassist laughed. Leaning in closer to the phone to make sure she didn’t mishear anything, Yukina raised an eyebrow.

“Lisa? Are you alright?” 

“Don’t worry, I’m fine~!” Lisa exclaimed, laughing again on the other end of the phone. “Mark my words though, Yukina, I’ll find a way to get you to come over! I promise you the party will be tons of fun~ ♪”

Yukina shook her head slowly.

“You can have fun without me. I can visit any other day of the year. There is no reason for me to come over when your house is going to be full of people.”

“Aha~ we’ll see about that!” Lisa said with a giggle. “I hope I’ll see you later, Yukina. I promise it’ll be worth your time!” 

It took a moment for Yukina to realize she wasn’t the one who hung up the phone. Sitting with her eyes closed, she felt the pencil between her fingers rock uneasily against the paper below it. Though she had been trying to write for only a few minutes, she went into the drafting session having no fresh ideas. The odds of getting a song written that night were slim. Humming to herself, Yukina decided against brainstorming and instead fell onto her bed with earbuds in her ears.

Despite being surrounded by music, Lisa’s proposition is what looped in her head.

~~~ 

Arisa didn’t go to Lisa’s Halloween party because she wanted to. She didn’t get dressed up as little red riding hood and fix up the stuffed wolf sitting upon her shoulder out of the kindness of her heart. In reality, Arisa wouldn’t have minded spending the night at home in the company of her bonsai and her grandmother.

She was tired of Misaki bragging about how she had been to Lisa’s house to learn more about crocheting and knitting, though. 

In retrospect, Arisa regretted the decision to come to the party. One night at a packed, crazy party didn’t seem like it was worth the bragging rights. She could remember her words like she had just spoken them.

_ “Oh yeah?” she snapped sarcastically at Misaki. “I can go to Lisa-san’s house too! That costume party she’s throwing on Halloween? I’ll show right up!”  _

_ “Ehhhh… you’d go to something like that?” Misaki wondered aloud, leaning into her hand. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be overwhelming? Lisa-san has a lot of friends, you know…” _

Perhaps she had underestimated just how many friends Roselia’s bass player had. There was already a large number of people shifting around inside the house and there was no telling how many more would show up. Pulling her red cape close around her arms, Arisa grimaced. 

At the very least, however, she wasn’t alone. Before attending, Arisa made sure to inform the most outgoing friend she had that she would be attending a party. She was comforted by the idea that there were people she knew nearby. 

In the present, however, perhaps inviting Kasumi along wasn’t a good idea. 

“I can hear the loud music playing already!” Kasumi exclaimed, pointing towards Lisa’s house. “Should I have brought my guitar? We could all jam together!” 

Grabbing Kasumi’s shoulder and pulling her close, Arisa inhaled sharply.

“There will be no jam session, idiot! We’re just here to do what people normally do at Halloween parties! Wouldn’t you know what that entails?” 

Kasumi stopped bouncing around long enough to think about Arisa’s question. She had a beaming smile upon her face for the entire evening so far, and Arisa had no idea when it would finally disappear. 

“I don’t really know,” Kasumi began, her smile unwavering. “I do know there’s usually lots of food! Music and costumes too!” 

Arisa sighed as she approached the front door. That much was obvious already. She felt protected by Kasumi’s overwhelming positivity as she rang the doorbell with a slow, cautious finger. The sound of chattering from the other side was much more audible than it was before, causing her to cringe nervously. 

The door opened slowly, revealing Lisa in a pair of cat ears and a grey, furry jacket to match. It seemed as if somebody painted a black nose and whiskers upon her face, completing the look. Giving both the girls a small wave, Lisa immediately stepped out of their way. 

“Kasumi! Arisa! How lovely to see you both here!” Lisa chirped with excitement. “There are refreshments in the kitchen, and there are enough snacks for everybody! Make yourselves at home in the meantime~♪”

Kasumi quickly pulled Lisa in for a hug. Disappointingly, Kasumi had her hair down for her zombie costume she had thrown together for the party. If both Lisa and Kasumi had some sort of cat ears in their hair, Arisa believed it would’ve made for a great photo.

“You look so fluffy and furry, Lisa-senpai!” Kasumi cooed with excitement. 

Arisa sighed and grabbed Kasumi’s shoulder within a few moments. She would’ve felt bad if Lisa had to deal with the hyperactive vocalist for too long. 

“Thank you for letting us come, Lisa-san! Don’t let us bother you in the meantime,” Arisa spoke quickly, giving Lisa a small hand wave. 

Tugging Kasumi away from the hostess, Arisa felt her nervousness set in. People all around her were talking to each other, laughing, or making some sort of general noise. The idea of sitting in the bathroom and waiting out the party sounded appealing, but the way Kasumi’s eyes sparkled probably meant that she wouldn’t be allowed to take the easy way out. 

Kasumi said something about a snack table and ran off into the crowd, forcing Arisa to chase after her. Dipping and swerving between people, it was only a matter of time before she lost the vocalist between all the party guests. Falling back against the wall with an exasperated sigh, she held a hand to her forehead. Being left alone wasn’t a good feeling. 

Just as a haziness was beginning to cloud her vision, a familiar voice called out from the living room. A pink, gloved hand with a suspicious resemblance to Hello Happy World’s mascot raised from around the couch. 

“Hey hey, Ichigaya-san… you look like you’re going to pass out over there. I have fruit punch and a plate of cookies… please come eat something before you pass out.”

Nearly stumbling towards the couch, Arisa was relieved to hear Misaki’s voice. Not stopping until she was leaning over the back of the couch, she realized that her friend was dressed in a hastily thrown together Michelle look-alike suit. It didn’t come close to the quality of the real Michelle, but above all it was recognizable. Arisa also couldn’t help but envy that Misaki was able to show up to a costume party in a pink sweatshirt and sweatpants and get away with it. 

“Nice costume, Okusawa-san,” she teased, unmoving against the couch. “You should’ve just asked Tsurumaki-san to borrow the real Michelle if you wanted to be her so badly.”

“And let Kokoro know I would be here?” Misaki said, surprised. “I think I deserve a break every now and then, you know.”

Arisa could only bring herself to nod. Somebody bumped into her, causing her to whip her head around to see who it was. Whoever it was, they had disappeared into the crowd as fast as they appeared. Misaki sighed and shifted to the side on the couch.

“Geez, you look exhausted already,” Misaki said with a sigh. “Please sit down before you pass out.” 

Slowly working her way around the couch over to the open space Misaki left for her, Arisa sat down against the couch. Her wolf plushie nearly slid off her shoulder, but Misaki was able to catch it before it disappeared onto the floor. Arisa didn’t think anybody would want to steal it, but she didn’t want to take chances. 

“Also,” Misaki began, “don’t get upset, but I brought Rimi with me.”

A head poked out from beside Misaki. Rimi was dressed up as an angel with a white feathery halo sitting upon her head. Smiling slightly, she waved to Arisa.

“ _ Rimi-rin?  _ Since when did you come to parties?”

It was going to be a long night, and Arisa knew there was no way Misaki would let her leave early. 

~~~

After refilling the fruit punch, Lisa took a minute to retreat to her room and check her outfit in the mirror. She made sure her cat ears were on straight and cleaned off any fur or crumbs she may have tracked in her fur jacket. Longingly looking towards the curtains, Lisa felt a small smile rest on her face.

She had tried to get Yukina to show up before, sure, but the efforts were futile. The vocalist was busy composing a song and she made it very clear she had no intention of going to a Halloween party. At the same time, Lisa was desperate to get her childhood friend to show up. Her night wouldn’t have been complete without getting to see Yukina at least once, and she wasn’t sure if she would be too exhausted to go see Yukina directly after the party.

Lisa resorted to wearing a cat costume to try and coax Yukina out of her house. Taking a picture in front of the mirror and sending it over a text, Lisa hoped she would get a better response than her conversation with Yukina did. 

“ _ Tonight would be just purr-fect if you were here, Yukinya!” _

Laying against her bed, she hoped nobody would notice her brief disappearance. She wouldn’t take longer than a few minutes, but she didn’t want to be caught sending messages in the middle of the party when she should’ve been having a good time with the rest of the guests. Mindlessly adjusting her grey ears again, Lisa waited for a response text.

The moment her phone buzzed, she pounced on it like a cat. 

_ “You look adorable.”  _

Grinning in the mirror, Lisa noticed a blush crawling upon her face. Her phone notified her of a text again a moment later, also coming from Yukina. 

_ “I am still busy. You should keep the costume for future events, though. Perhaps it would look good for one of Roselia’s performances.” _

Mumbling curses under her breath, Lisa stood up from her bed irritated, but not defeated. Lisa wasn’t going to give up getting Yukina to come to the party, even if it were for a few minutes. If the costume wouldn’t work, then she would have to resort to plan B. Exiting her bedroom, she closed the door behind her in hopes that nobody noticed her inside. Adjusting her cat ears one more time as she stepped down the stairs, she sighed in relief.

When she was caught by the fluff of her jacket, however, Lisa felt the calm in her body suddenly disappear. 

“Imai-san. Where did you run off to?”

Slowly turning to see who had stopped her, Lisa laughed nervously as she met eyes with Sayo Hikawa, casually dressed as a vampire. Though it wasn’t much more than a black cape and plastic fangs, she seemed to capture the vibe of an angry vampire perfectly. Shrugging slightly, Lisa attempted to sputter out a response. 

“Sayo! I was… dealing with things in my room. Believe me, it was nothing important~ ahaha…”

“I should hope you are alright,” Sayo retorted, folding her arms across her chest. “If I am being honest, I didn’t notice your disappearance right away. Shirokane-san did, though, and I was obligated to figure out what was wrong. She was quite worried something had gone wrong.”

A wave of guilt washed over her. Worrying Rinko didn’t sound good at all-- Lisa made an internal note to apologize immediately after her conversation with Sayo ended. 

“No, no! Truthfully, Yukina won’t come over… I’ve been trying all day to get her to show up, but she insists upon composing tonight! She really never stops thinking about music…” 

Nodding slowly, Sayo’s posture became less tense.

“That trait is to be admired,” she began, “though I can see why you insist so heavily upon seeing her. Just don’t give up, Imai-san.” 

Sayo pats her gently on the shoulder before disappearing down the stairs and back into the crowd. Standing for a moment with a hand to her head, Lisa needed to check her temperature. Surely she wasn’t having a fever? There was no way in the world that Sayo had told her to  _ try  _ to get Yukina to stop working on music. She giggled nervously to nobody in particular. 

Diving into the crowd, Lisa made her way to the kitchen, pushing past the many, many people that had shown up to her costume party. 

~~~

“There is nothing to worry about, Shirokane-san. She said that she was trying to get Minato-san to come over, but was having no luck.”

Rinko sighed in relief. When she saw Lisa hastily rush up the stairs, she was worried that the party might’ve become overwhelming or that an emergency came up. She didn’t want to try and get in the way and ask what was wrong, but when Sayo realized something was wrong she offered to check instead. To hear that everything was going well was a relief. 

“That’s good…” she began, a smile crossing her face. “How much longer... do you plan on staying tonight? I forgot how long… the party goes for.”

“I am hoping to stay around for a few more hours,” Sayo said. “I have no prior occupations, and I would feel bad if something did go wrong after I left. Imai-san has her hands full with a party this size.” 

The two of them looked out at the crowd, and Rinko knew she’d never been able to handle a group that size. There were too many people to keep track of in too many places and too many people that she didn’t recognize. If she stared for too long, it became overwhelming.

“Ako-chan told me that she’d leave whenever I’m leaving…” Rinko continued, recalling her conversation with the drummer. “She’s greeting people right now, but we can’t stay too late. NFO is running a Halloween collection event… and tonight is the only night to obtain… the skeletal dragon’s loot weapons.” 

There was a glimmer in Sayo’s eyes that Rinko was certain nobody else could catch. Although she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she took a certain liking to the guitarist that could’ve been considered more than friendship. Being terrible at dropping hints meant that they didn’t get to spend much time together personally, but the Halloween party was proving to work in her favor after Ako had left to find some of her other friends. 

“Skeletal dragon’s loot?” Sayo asked. “What are the bonuses on those weapons? I recall them being very powerful, but I don’t remember much else.”

“They do extra damage to undead… depending on your level…” Rinko began, trying to recall the stats on the new weapons. “If you’re wearing the other Halloween gear… you also get passive healing during the evening hours…”

It seemed as if Sayo was trying to organize how the boosts would benefit her character in the back of her head. 

“T-The full set,” Rinko continued, “is said to be great for nighttime play… the passive heals are crucial to late event boss fights…”

“It seems I will have to get on at some point before the event ends and try to complete the set,” Sayo decided, leaning against the wall behind her. “If you are awake by the time I get home from the party, do you mind clearing a few dungeons with me? We’d be more efficient playing together, after all.” 

She didn’t show it, but Rinko was overjoyed at the offer. Not only was it much better to be playing with a tank character (as a wizard, her armor class was generally low), but it was time she would get to spend with Sayo without interruptions or other people in the way. Nodding quickly, the pianist found herself smiling. 

“O-Of course, Hikawa-san! You don’t have to ask! If you ever need a DPS to play with… I’m almost always available…” 

Sayo opened her mouth to say something else, but the sound of Ako yelling promptly interrupted their conversation. Launching herself at Rinko, she noticed that Ako’s outfit was already looking crooked and worn in some aspects. Though it had been carefully hand-made for show, it seemed Ako did not intend to just stand around. The headpiece and dress were made with a magenta fabric to make her look like a small demon-- and she fit the part perfectly. 

“Rin-rin, there are cookies at the snack table and they taste delicious!” Ako exclaimed, grabbing Rinko’s hand with sudden force. “You have to try these! The icing is to die for! I’d traverse the seven hells just to find the recipe…” 

Stumbling forwards, she glanced in Sayo’s direction and smiled at her one more time. The guitarist adjusted the cape on her back and gave Rinko a slow nod. 

“Go get them before they’re gone. We will surely meet again before you have to leave.”

With only Ako’s hand to guide her, Rinko disappeared into the crowd as suddenly as the drummer had appeared earlier. Though the kitchen wasn’t far, there’d be a lot of people to push past to get there. If the cookies were as good as Ako insisted, though, the journey would be worth it. 

Rinko didn’t expect herself to be having so much fun. 

~~~

As she approached the kitchen table to check on the food supply, Lisa was unsurprised to see Moca was trying to take as many buns as she could. They were just delivered fresh from Yamabuki bakery, and it seemed Afterglow’s guitarist was trying to get as much of the goodness as possible. Thankfully, Lisa was around to stop the heist. 

“Moca!” She yelled, catching the guitarist’s attention. “You’ve been caught red-handed, bun thief! Put the loot back in the basket!” 

Moca groaned as she slowly put the buns back into the basket. Leaning against one hand, she frowned in Lisa’s direction. She wore a white sheet over her head with various turquoise patches and two eyeholes. The bassist was almost certain that Moca was supposed to be a ghost, but she didn’t want to guess and be incorrect.

“Awww, Lisa-san found me in the kitchen…” Moca said, crestfallen. “Can this poor, unfortunate soul have at least one bun before she withers away into the darkness of the night?” 

Laughing, Lisa nodded her head as she approached the refrigerator. 

“Yes, you can have one bun. If they aren’t popular, then maybe you can have any that don’t get eaten when the party's over.”

Lisa watched as Moca ravenously stuffed her face with a pretzel bun. She didn’t dare speak until she was done savoring every bite she took, which gave Lisa enough time to pull contents out of her fridge. A bowl of cookie dough along with a series of cookie cutters and sheets were prepared before the party, and it was officially time to begin baking. 

“Moca-chan is going to launch her ‘no-more-buns campaign’!” Lisa heard once she was done grabbing the cookie sheets. “If nobody else eats the buns, they will all be Moca’s!” 

Laughing nervously, Lisa hoped that wouldn’t end up being the case. She was sure that if Moca got too rowdy, somebody would get into a real argument with her. 

“Go easy on your campaign,” Lisa said with a laugh. “Now go have fun! I need to get to baking!” 

As Moca slipped out of the kitchen, Lisa separated the cat-shaped cookie cutters from the rest of the group. She had already made a variety of Halloween-styled cookies (with pumpkin, bat, and broomstick shapes), but she knew that Yukina wouldn’t settle for that. Black cat cookies, however, might’ve been enticing enough to get her to come to the party. Though they still had to be baked, Lisa knew that if they turned out right that they’d be a sure success. 

As she began to spread the cookie dough to apply the cookie cutters, two people entered the kitchen. Turning around to see who had arrived, Lisa noticed that Ran and Tsugumi were grabbing a few snacks.

“Ah, Ran! Tsugumi! Hello there!” Lisa said with a smile, adjusting her cat ears as she spoke.

“It’s great to see you, Lisa-senpai!” Tsugumi spoke first, picking up one of the buns in the basket Moca tried to raid moments ago. “What are you doing back in the kitchen?”

“I’m just baking some more cookies,” Lisa told them as she began applying the cat cookie cutter to the dough. “I thought throwing some kittens into the mix would add more variety to the collection, don’t you think?” 

Ran, who had been scrutinizing the fruit punch for some time, lifted her head to look at Lisa. Her gaze shifted towards the cookie cutters, and she held a straight face. 

“...Sounds like something Minato-san would like.” 

“N-No, this has nothing to do with Yukina, trust me!” Lisa exclaimed, carefully trying to balance her nervousness with the cautious required to make the cookies perfect. “I’m just… baking cookies!” 

“You don’t mind if I help then, do you?” Tsugumi asked, making her way around the snack table. “I’m sure they’ll turn out delicious once they’re done, but you’ve got a lot of cookies to make alone. If we work together, they’ll be done quicker!” 

Although she didn’t want to accept the help, Lisa was relieved that another person was offering to assist her with the baking. The quicker she could make the cookies, the quicker she could return to the party and kick off more of the festivities. Lisa gestured to the cookie cutters sitting in front of the dough.

“You don’t have to, but I don’t mind the help! I appreciate it a lot~✩”

Lisa watched as Tsugumi gestured to Ran, who was currently filling up a small red cup with fruit punch.

“Ran-chan, you should come make cookies too! I’ll show you how!” 

The vocalist slowly put her cup of fruit punch down, and she looked from Tsugumi to Lisa multiple times. Sighing softly, she slowly made her way over to Tsugumi and Lisa, looking down at the cookie dough.

“...Tsugumi,” Ran muttered under her breath. “I’ve never made cookies before.”

“It’s okay, I’ll get to teach you!” Tsugumi said excitedly, picking up one of the cookie cutters. “Just watch what I do, and then you give it a try.”

Lisa watched as Tsugumi placed the cookie cutter into the dough with a soft press. Lifting the cutter, she lifted the cat-shaped piece of cookie dough free from the pile and placed it upon the cookie sheet with ease. Though Lisa had been baking for years, she was in awe of the skill Tsugumi possessed. 

Ran’s hands hesitated over the cookie cutter, but Tsugumi was there to help. Guiding her movements to a part of the cookie dough that had been untouched, Tsugumi’s gestures were slow and kind. Working together to press the cookie cutter into the dough, Lisa couldn’t help but giggle.

“You two are cute,” she commented as she moved another cookie to the cookie sheet. 

“A-Am not!” Ran insisted, her hands still being guided by Tsugumi. 

Though Tsugumi spent most of her time helping Ran, the three of them worked together to make two full sheets of cookies in record time. Hardly any cookie dough went unused, and Lisa couldn’t wait for when they came out of the oven. It wasn’t until Lisa was done preheating the oven that she realized Tsugumi and Ran were also dressed like ghosts. Their outfits matched the style of Moca’s. 

“Is Afterglow matching tonight?” Lisa asked, leaning against the counter. 

“We’re all ghosts today,” Tsugumi told her with a smile. “It was Himari-chan’s idea, and I think it turned out great!” 

Ran nodded, and Lisa noticed a small blush was present on her face. Perhaps Tsugumi working so closely with her embarrassed her? It was nothing the bassist was going to point out publicly, but she was certainly curious. 

“I haven’t seen Himari or Tomoe yet…” Lisa admitted, checking the snack table again. “I did see Moca, though! She tried to steal my buns, but that’s classic Moca…”

Tsugumi laughed and Ran managed to smile. 

“Lisa-san,” Ran said suddenly, still smiling. “Are you sure that these cookies weren’t for Minato-san? I assumed she would’ve been stuck to your side, but she’s nowhere to be found.”

Looking around, Lisa suddenly realized that she was getting nervous. She didn’t think she was attached to Yukina’s side, but Ran of all people figured out her hidden intentions? The bassist laughed with fear in her tone. 

“Ahaha… I am trying to get her to come around,” Lisa admitted. “She’s been composing for Roselia all night, but I just wish she’d come over. Even for a few minutes, you know? It would mean the world to me to get to see her on Halloween~♪”

“That’s okay,” Ran told her after taking a sip of fruit punch. “Hopefully she comes around. Let us know when the cookies are done.”

“I’ll send someone to find you!” Lisa said excitedly, placing the cookie sheets into the oven. “Just don’t get too lost in the crowd.”

“We won’t get too lost!” Tsugumi exclaimed, waving to Lisa. “Thanks for letting us help! We’ll see you soon, Lisa-senpai!” 

Before they left, Lisa swore she watched Tsugumi take a drink from Ran’s fruit punch cup. They seemed oddly intimate to her, but she refused to make false assumptions. Upsetting someone on Halloween night wouldn’t have been a good idea, after all. Sitting down in one of the chairs at the table, Lisa watched the oven closely. She wanted to make sure she was at the oven the moment the cookies were done. 

Loud music was coming from the living room and she was sure she saw a few people dancing. Perhaps it was Kaoru? Lisa couldn’t tell from where she was sitting, but she didn’t want to move. A hand slowly rested upon her pocket as if waiting for another text from Yukina. 

After the cookies were ready, she’d have to start the costume competition. Lisa hummed softly to herself and refilled the fruit punch bowl to pass time. 

The tune to  _ Promise  _ was stuck in her head. 

~~~

“...So, yeah. Rimi wanted to come to the party with me. I’m glad you made it though, Ichigaya-san.”

Misaki, Rimi, and Arisa were all sitting together on Lisa’s couch talking together as the party continued. Though Kasumi was still nowhere to be found, Arisa was relieved that the two of them were able to keep her company. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Misaki left to grab the group snacks, and the three of them had been sitting on the couch ever since with plates full of pretzels, cookies, and candies. Though Arisa insisted she didn’t need to have all the sugar, Misaki brought it anyway. 

“I heard a rumor that Lisa-san was going to be holding a costume contest,” Rimi said softly, leaning in close to Misaki and Arisa. “Do you think any of you will be entering?”

“Like hell I’d win in this,” Misaki laughed while gesturing to her shoddy Michelle replica costume. “Ichigaya-san could probably win though. I mean, look at her.”

Rimi and Misaki closely observed Arisa’s outfit, causing her to turn away in frustration. Grabbing another cookie from her plate, she took a bite out of it before turning back to the two of them. 

“I already feel like I’m going to die just by standing around here!” Arisa snapped, looking at the people dancing not far from them in the living room. “You think I’d be able to stand in a costume contest without passing out? You’re out of your minds!” 

“We’d be supporting you, Arisa-chan,” Rimi reassured her, fluffy angel wings falling forwards against her back. “And Kasumi-chan would be too if we could figure out where she went…”

Misaki was looking over the back of the couch as if trying to scout people out. Elbowing Arisa, she pointed towards a few people in the crowd.

“The competition isn’t that aggressive, after all,” Misaki mentioned. “Your biggest competitors are probably Shirasagi-senpai, Kaoru-san, and Rinko-senpai…”

“What the hell, all three of them are here??” Arisa frantically moved to look out from the back of the couch. “I didn’t even know Shirasagi-senpai and Rinko-senpai went to parties!” 

Misaki pointed to Chisato, who was talking to Kanon beside a fake skeleton. The two were chatting about something Arisa couldn’t pick up on, but it was true Chisato would act like some tough competition. She was dressed as a witch and though the outfit was simple, she still managed to serve the look like she was a model on the front cover of a magazine. 

“Lisa-san really does have connections everywhere, doesn’t she?” Rimi asked, also looking out at the other people in the room. “Ako-chan also looks pretty cute…”

The trio watched as the girl dressed as a demon ran past them, Asuka and Rokka following not too far behind. They all disappeared into the group of people dancing, and Arisa assumed she wouldn’t be seeing them anytime soon. 

“Doesn’t Ako-chan usually hang around Rinko-senpai?” Arisa wondered upon realizing Ako had run by. “Is she alone right now?” 

“She’s sitting with Hikawa-senpai,” Misaki explained. “No need to worry about them. They seem to be having a good time.”

Arisa was getting tired of spotting people she recognized from the back of the couch, so she turned back around and grabbed another cookie. Though she knew lots of good bakers, nothing seemed to beat Lisa’s cookies. Realizing that the one she was eating was their last one, Arisa made a mental note that she’d have to get up and grab more later.

Her thought process was interrupted by the music being turned down, and Lisa entering the room from the kitchen. She was waving her hands to get everyone’s attention, and the various conversations people were having became quiet quickly. All eyes were on the girl dressed like a grey cat, who seemed to be beaming with excitement.

“Hello everybody!” She exclaimed. “We’re going to be having our costume contest soon, so if you want to take part, please make your way to the front of the living room! If you’re already up there, please relocate so we can host the costume contest! Anybody can win, so I hope you participate!” 

Arisa watched as Misaki got up from the couch, picking up her plate as she got up. Gesturing to Rimi to follow, the bassist also got up quickly. Misaki gave Arisa a thumbs-up and took a sip of fruit punch. 

“Get in the competition and win, Ichigaya-san,” Misaki said with a smile, walking away from the couch. “You’ll make us all proud.”

As her two friends left, Arisa was left alone on the couch. While she could have followed them and chickened out of the competition, perhaps entering would prove she was getting over her social anxiety. Taking a deep breath as she stood up from the couch, she decided she’d make her way to the front of the living room.

Winning Lisa’s Halloween party costume contest would be a pretty cool thing to brag about, after all.

~~~

When Lisa sent a picture of the completed cat cookies to Yukina, she waited five minutes in hopes that it would garner a response. Instead, she was left on read. Although she partially expected that Yukina wouldn’t budge, she was truly hoping for a response at least. Laughing to herself alone in the kitchen, Lisa knew that despite being disappointed, she still had a party to host. Putting out the cat cookies, she put a few to the side on a plate and put it in the refrigerator for later. Yukina had said it herself-- if she didn’t show up to the party, at least she’d come over some other day. 

By the time Lisa entered the living room again, she saw a large collection of people gathered at the front of the living room. She recognized Rinko and Arisa right away, standing next to each other and chatting about how coincidental it was they were both at Lisa’s party. Looking around, she saw many smiling faces and people having fun. 

Lisa felt fantastic.

“Okay, everybody! Let’s split you up into groups for the first round! The first four of you get in one group, the next four in another, and the last three of you will be your own group…”

Watching as everybody split themselves up, Lisa felt somebody tap her shoulder. Turning to look at who it was, she saw Hina dressed up as a wolf. 

“Lisa-chii, I got onee-chan to enter the costume contest!” Hina said excitedly, refusing to let go of Lisa’s arm. “She’s standing over there-- doesn’t she look fantastic?”

Sayo seemed more annoyed than anybody else standing up at the front of the room. Chisato seemed to be striking up a conversation with her, though, and she seemed less irritated than before. Lisa turned back to Hina, who still had stars in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you enter the contest? Aren’t you and Aya both dressed as wolves? You would’ve looked cute together!” 

“But that’s just the problem!” Hina said, exasperated. “We’d never win alone… Aya and I are totally a dynamic duo! You should have a pairs contest next year. Then we’d win for sure.” 

Lisa noticed Aya standing with Kasumi out of the corner of her eye. While Hina was sporting turquoise furs and ears, Aya went with a pink, sparkly wolf look. They weren’t very scary, but together they looked like dogs the color of cotton candy. 

“You two look cute enough to eat~♪” Lisa said with a giggle, nudging Hina. “Let me start the judging, okay? I’ll check back in with you later.” 

Hina nodded and walked over towards Aya and Kasumi, who were both getting excited over different people in the costume contest. Lisa noticed Arisa snapping at Kasumi from the third group, but they all still seemed to be having fun. 

She couldn’t keep observing, though. It was time for the contest to begin. 

~~~

While the costume contest was taking place, the Afterglow gang gathered in the now-vacant kitchen. Moca was standing by the basket of buns, periodically taking one and biting into it. Himari sat on the counter and Tomoe leaned against the table, the latter handing the former a cat-shaped cookie whenever she asked. Ran was also leaning against the table, carefully watching Tsugumi as she refilled her fruit punch bowl. 

“So Lisa-san made these cookies to try and get Minato-san to come over?” Tomoe asked, looking at the handiwork of Roselia’s bassist. “I hope she does end up coming. It would be disappointing if Minato-san didn’t get to have the treat Lisa-san made specially for her.” 

“I was trying to think of a way to help,” Tsugumi mentioned, “but I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do! I don’t know Minato-san that well, and I can’t manifest a cat out of nowhere.” 

The group fell silent again. Ran took a handful of pretzels and began eating them casually. She didn’t notice Tsugumi taking a few when she wasn’t looking. 

“There’s enough strays around here that we could find one and bring it in?” Himari proposed, leaning forwards from the counter. 

“We are not bringing random animals into Lisa-san’s house,” Ran said immediately. “She’s got enough random animals in this house thanks to this party.”

“People are not animals!” Tsugumi exclaimed, elbowing Ran softly. 

They all turned to look over at Moca, who had stuffed her pockets with bread buns.

“I think there are exceptions to that statement,” Ran said, staring directly at Moca. “Didn’t Lisa-san tell you that you had to wait before the party was over to take all those?” 

Moca held onto the buns protectively. 

“Lisa-san will let Moca have as many buns as she wants once she gets Minato-san to come over…” Moca explained, pulling another bun from her pocket. “Moca-chan has a genius idea that cannot fail!”

Everybody sat in silence as Moca pulled out another bun.

“...And what is this genius idea?” Tomoe asked, picking up another cat cookie.

They all watched as Moca walked over to the cat cookie plate and pulled a napkin out from the pile. Pushing most of the cat cookies onto the napkin, the group watched as she folded up the napkin and moved it to the side. Only four cat cookies were left on the plate, which was a lot less than before. Moca pulled out her phone and took a picture of the almost-empty plate and got to texting immediately afterward.

“Moca, are you going to explain anything you’re doing?” Ran asked as she picked up Tsugumi’s fruit punch cup. “You can’t just start taking pictures and call it a genius plan.”

“Stop being so cryptic, Moca!” Himari said while hopping down from the counter. “Who are you texting?” 

Moca placed her phone down on the counter and showed the group the text she was sending. The photo of the almost-empty cat cookie plate had a message underneath it that Moca had just finished typing out.

_ Lisa-san is almost out of cookies~ it would be a shame if you missed the chance to have any. If you aren’t here in ten minutes, Moca-chan is going to eat all of them. Have fun!  _

It was addressed to Yukina. 

“How did you even get her phone number?” Tomoe asked. “You two never talk!” 

“Moca-chan has her ways~” she said with a smile, hitting the send button on the message. “If all goes right, Minato-san will show up looking for all of the tasty cookies.”

Moca lifted the napkin back over the cat cookie plate, pouring all the cookies she previously removed back onto the plate. Himari frantically took one, biting into it with a satisfied expression.

“Maybe you’re right… if she doesn’t hurry, I’m going to eat them all!” 

“You’ll gain weight if you eat all those cookies, Hii-chan…” 

Everyone watched as Ran delivered a swift slap to Moca’s back.

“Don’t say that!” Ran snapped, taking another cookie from the plate. 

They all laughed together and continued to talk until loud cheering was heard from the living room. It sounded like the costume contest was coming to a close, and people would be returning to the kitchen. Afterglow agreed that they couldn’t keep the kitchen secured for themselves forever, and returned to the living room.

The music was loud, and the party was in full motion. 

~~~

The costume party was down to the last three competitors, and Rinko was terrified. 

Many people were eliminated early on, and there were a few upsets. Lisa was consistently asking people to help judge certain rounds, and lots of their friends were eliminated earlier in the competition. Sayo was one of the first ones to be cut, though it seemed she was aware she wasn’t going to last long from the start. The costume contest that started at twelve people was down to three, those being herself, Arisa, and Kaoru. 

“What a fleeting end we’ve come to…” Kaoru muttered, extending a hand towards the back of the room as if in performance. “As the great Shakespeare once said, all the world’s a stage! Even costume contests!”

Rimi’s swooning was followed by her collapsing to the ground. Misaki panicked. 

Lisa was standing in front of the couch towards the middle of the living room. Her judging eyes scanned each outfit slowly as if picking out every stitch and detail. Rinko wanted to collapse under the pressure, but she knew she had to stay strong. In a way, she took solace in the fact that Arisa was just as nervous as she was. 

“Rinko-senpai,” Arisa muttered, “I won’t be mad if you win. I’m just saying… you and Kaoru-san look great.”

“T-Thank you… Ichigaya-san!” Rinko said softly, smiling with all the energy she could muster. 

It was clear she probably wouldn’t be staying long after the party. Being in the costume competition had drained the energy out of her, and she still needed to make sure she was awake later in the evening to play NFO with Sayo. If she wasn’t able to stay up, she was at least certain that she was going to grind the event bosses until she got the gear for the character of Sayo’s class. It was the least she could do for being stuck to Sayo’s side for most of the party. 

Rinko also noticed that Lisa seemed a bit distracted. As the competition went by, she constantly checked out the windows and looked over at the door often. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that there was still no sign of Yukina at the party despite her trying to get Yukina to come around for a while. 

She wanted to offer words of encouragement and kindness, but Rinko couldn’t do that while she was one of the final three competitors in the costume contest. 

“Alright, are we ready for the semi-finals round?” Lisa called to the group. 

In response, she got lots of cheers. The loudest ones were from the side of the room where Aya, Kasumi, and Ako stood. Pumping their fists in the air, the trio was getting excited for everybody remaining in the contest. 

Sayo was standing over there too, and while she wasn’t cheering, she was smiling in approval. That was enough for Rinko to keep smiling too. 

“Okay! Can I have everybody remaining show off their costumes one more time?”

Karou, who was first in the line, posed a few times for the crowd. Was she dressed as a thief of some sort, or perhaps a musketeer? Rinko had read of a similar character in a book before, but she wasn’t entirely sure of what Kaoru was getting at. As she bowed for the group, there was lots of clapping and cheering. 

Rinko realized she was next as Lisa gestured towards her. Nervously grabbing at her wizard’s wand, she also bowed for the group and adjusted her cape. That night, she decided to dress up as her NFO character, a phoenix wizard. Her robes were purple and red colors, the color of most of the fire attacks of her wizard subclass. Doing a small spin to show off the full effects of her costume, many people began clapping and cheering again.

“You got this, Rin-rin!” Ako yelled over the rest of the clapping.

Stepping back once she was done, Rinko gestured towards Arisa for her to show off her outfit. Showing off her wolf, cape, and the intricate details of her costume, Arisa got lots of positive reception for her outfit. Kasumi had to be restrained by Sayo and Aya to prevent her from jumping out of the crowd. 

As the cheers died out, Lisa carefully looked over all the competitors again.

“This choice pains me… all of you look wonderful tonight!” she said, raising a hand to her mouth. “Sadly, as contests go, there can only be one winner. Next, I am going to have to eliminate…”

She waited to announce the next name. The music in the background was casual Halloween music, but it contributed to the nervous tension in the air. 

“-Kaoru! Congrats on third place!” 

Many people began clapping and cheering, and the phantom thief exited the stage. As Lisa gave her the third-place prize, Rinko realized that she had made the final two in the costume contest. Nervously turning to Arisa, she realized that the other pianist must’ve been thinking the same thing. 

“We made it,” Arisa muttered, eyes wide. “Best of luck to you, Rinko-senpai!”

“A-And you too… Ichigaya-san!” 

They both watched as Lisa returned to the middle of the room, adjusting her cat ears slightly. Before saying any more, she glanced towards the door again. A small flash of disappointment crossed her face before returning to the giddy smile she wore for most of the night.

“And now we’re down to the final two!” she announced, turning around to look at the rest of the party attendees. “Rinko and Arisa, our lovely wizard and red riding hood!”

It was too far into the competition for Rinko to freeze up now. Trying to smile, she lifted her chin and looked around for all her friends in the crowd that were clapping and cheering for the finalists. Still, her eyes always seemed to fall back upon Sayo. Her gaze tended to linger for just a moment too long. 

“As you both know,” Lisa continued, “there can only be one winner. You’ve both fought hard to reach this point, though! It must be pretty cool to know you have two of the greatest costumes at this whole party!” 

Rinko felt like Lisa was spoiling her with kind compliments. Raising a hand to her face to try and cover her blush, it seemed as if her efforts were futile. 

“Without further ado, we will have to crown a winner…”

Everyone watched as Hina stepped forwards, holding a small golden crown. It probably wasn’t real gold, but it looked fun to have nevertheless. Considering both Rinko and Arisa needed objects on their head for their costumes, Rinko wasn’t sure what she’d do with it, but it looked cute regardless. 

“The winner of the costume contest is…” 

Just as Lisa was about to speak, somebody knocked on the door. Everybody’s heads turned to look at what had caused the disturbance. The only thing that didn’t seem to freeze in time was the music, which was still playing as if nothing had ever happened. The ghostbuster’s theme played through Lisa’s living room as everyone stood staring at the door, wondering who was supposed to open it at such a tense moment. 

After a moment of nothing happening, the person at the door decided it was a much better idea to invite themselves in instead of waiting. Lisa’s eyes widened as the guest stepped inside, dressed in black cat ears and a black dress with a purple bow. 

“...Y-Yukina?”

~~~

In the end, Lisa declared both Rinko and Arisa winners of the costume contest. She was too shocked by Yukina’s arrival to know what to do, so she sputtered out that they had both won and that she would find a way to give them both prizes in compensation for not getting a proper finish to the contest. In a way, they seemed relieved. 

Immediately after Yukina entered, she made her way to the kitchen. After finishing the costume contest and people going back to doing what they were doing before, Lisa got into the kitchen as quickly as she could, realizing exactly what Yukina had come for. She hovered over the cat cookie plate on the counter, one half-eaten cat already in her mouth.

“These almost look too good to eat, Lisa,” Yukina said after she finished chewing. “As per usual, you have outdone yourself.”

“Y-Yukina! You said you were busy!” Lisa exclaimed, pulling up a nearby chair. “What happened to the song you were writing? How much did you get done?”

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t get anything done,” she responded. “The ideas I was coming up with weren’t very good, and after you sent a photo of the cookies I was too busy thinking about them to continue planning. After Aoba-san sent me a photo of the cookies-”

“Moca??” 

“Yes, Aoba-san sent me a photo of the cookies. There were hardly any left, and I realized that if I didn’t come over soon, there would be none left for me. I hurried to find something to wear and came over as soon as I could.”

Lisa laughed nervously, leaning against one of her hands. Yukina picked up another cookie and bit into the ear of the cat. Leave it to Moca to cause enough trouble to make things work in her favor. 

“What’s so funny?” Yukina asked.

“Ahaha~ I put a plate aside for you in case you didn’t get to show up. I suppose I can get that out if I need to, though.”

Yukina slowly raised a hand as if telling Lisa to stop.

“Save them. I will want more of these later,” Yukina insisted. 

They sat together in the kitchen quietly for a few minutes more, simply enjoying being in one another’s presence. Although Lisa wanted to scoot closer to Yukina or potentially lay her head against the shoulder of her childhood friend, she didn’t want to do anything that would look strange at a party. There was no way anybody wouldn’t catch her small gestures. 

“How much longer is the party going on for?” Yukina asked. “There’s quite a lot of people here.” 

“Around an hour longer,” Lisa said while filling up a cup with fruit punch, “though I’m pretty sure people will start going home soon. You missed a lot of the party!”

“I suppose I did,” was all Yukina said in response. 

“Maybe you should go say hello to a few people before they leave,” Lisa proposed while nudging Yukina’s side. “When there are fewer people… perhaps we can go somewhere quieter?” 

Yukina nodded as she stood up from the table. 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

As they exited the kitchen, it was clear a lot of people were preparing to head out. Some people had already left for home, and Lisa was thankfully able to catch Aya and Chisato as they were checking in with people. 

“Aya!” Lisa exclaimed, approaching the frazzled pink vocalist. “I hope you had a good time tonight!” 

“Ooooh, Lisa-chan, it was wonderful!” Aya told her with tears in her eyes. “Everybody looked so good, and you did such a good job! Do you think you’ll hold another party next Halloween? We need to invite more people!” 

Lisa watched as Chisato promptly placed a hand upon Aya’s shoulder, smiling at the hostess with a soft expression. 

“I think Lisa-chan got a great number of people to arrive as it is. The party was wonderful, and the food was even better. Please send the recipe to your cookies sometime.”

Lisa nodded as Chisato turned back towards Aya.

“I hate to cut the party short for us,” Chisato explained, “but the agency needs us back for a Halloween photo shoot. We have to promote the upcoming live show, after all.” 

Aya nodded, waving to Lisa and Yukina one more time.

“Happy Halloween to you both, and I’ll see you guys soon!” Aya shouted while disappearing through the door.

Upon their disappearance, Lisa realized that the room had become a lot quieter thanks to so many people leaving. Arisa, Misaki, Kasumi, and Rimi were all chatting amongst each other, and Asuka and Rokka were listening intently to everything they were saying. Part of the Afterglow crew had also departed, though Moca, Ran, and Tsugumi were still hanging around by the stairs. Sayo and Rinko were also sitting by the back of the room with Ako bringing them a plate of snacks. 

“It’s good to see you, Minato-san,” Sayo said, waving the two of them over. “Have you had any of these cookies yet? They’re very good.” 

Yukina nodded and watched as Ako grabbed a handful of pretzels from the plate. 

“Yukina-san!” Ako said with excitement. “Have you considered doing a Roselia Halloween show? Pastel*Palettes is having one, and I think it would be a great idea!” 

“Ako-chan, that might be a little too bold…” Rinko began, a smile slowly crossing her face. 

“-It might not be a half-bad idea,” Yukina responded, surprising everybody. “Perhaps next year we can have a live show and an afterparty instead of crowding Lisa’s house again.” 

All of Roselia was in awe of Yukina’s proposition, but nobody seemed to have any objections to it.

“I think that sounds alright,” Sayo said with a nod. “I’m going to have to get going soon, though. Hina wants to get home and doesn’t want to go alone, and I admittedly need to… take care of things.”

Sayo and Rinko shared a strange, knowing glance. Rather than pressing, though, Lisa just smiled. It probably had something to do with the game that they both played anyway.

“That’s no problem!” she said happily. “I’m glad you all came tonight. It’s been so much fun!” 

“Ako can’t wait to come back over another time!” Ako said, pumping her fists in the air. “Lisa-nee’s cookies are more filling than… than…”

“-the most powerful artificer’s potions,” Rinko whispered.

“...more filling than the most powerful artificer’s potions!” 

Lisa giggled as the group stood up and said their goodbyes. When they had all left, they noticed that the group chatting on the couch was also preparing to go. Lisa thanked them all for coming (and checked to make sure Arisa was still doing well), and noticed that the house was almost empty. After they had disappeared. Between Kasumi and Arisa and the madness that Rokka and Asuka created, they accounted for a lot of the noise at the party. By then, three stragglers were left behind in the kitchen. 

“Yukina,” Lisa spoke in a whisper. “If you want to go up to my room and wait for me there, I’ll come and get you once everybody else goes.” 

Nodding, Yukina retreated up the stairs, leaving Lisa to deal with the last three guests waiting around in the kitchen. Ran and Tsugumi were finishing off some of the snacks while Moca was hovering over the breadbasket, still half-full of buns. 

“Lisa-san better follow through with her promise and let Moca-chan have the leftover buns…” Moca said with a devious grin. 

“They’re all yours~♪” Lisa said with a small giggle. “Just leave my basket- you’re in charge of carrying all those home!” 

As Moca began to scoop buns up into her hand and put them in her pockets, she realized there wasn’t enough room to take them all back. Looking to Tsugumi with desperation in her eyes, Moca held out some of the buns.

“Tsugu, I need your help!”

Ran looked at Tsugumi with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t you dare enable her,” Ran mumbled before taking another sip of fruit punch.

“I’m so sorry, Ran…” Tsugumi said softly as she accepted a few buns into her hands.

Lisa watched as Moca laughed and said the help was absolutely  _ tsugurific,  _ and even though Lisa didn’t know what it meant, it seemed like everyone was in a very tsugurific mood. 

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Lisa said, “but everybody is going home. You’re the last ones here, so I’m gonna have to kick you out eventually.”

“It’s okay!” Tsugumi said with pockets full of buns. “We were going to head out once Moca spoke to you… there are a few places we need to stop on the way home before having an all-nighter movie marathon!” 

“And nobody is allowed to fall asleep,” Ran stated while looking directly at Tsugumi. “Somebody doesn’t usually stay awake the whole time, and then we need to find a place for her to sleep.”

“I promise I’ll be awake this time!” Tsugumi exclaimed, nervously scratching at her cheek. “But, we’re sorry to bother you, Lisa-senpai. Thank you for hosting a super fun Halloween party!” 

“It’s no problem, and make sure to have a good rest of your night! Stay safe!” Lisa told them as they all exited the kitchen. 

When Lisa realized she was alone on the ground floor of her house, she realized that it wasn’t too bad of a mess. There were lots of random plates and cups scattered across flat surfaces, but she wouldn’t have had a problem picking that up. Taking a few minutes to clean up the living room as her phone was still playing Halloween music through the speaker, Lisa decided to leave the kitchen for the next day. She had more important things to tend to first.

Turning off the music, Lisa made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Pushing open the door slowly, she realized that Yukina was laying on her bed absentmindedly playing with the tail on her cat costume. When Lisa entered, however, Yukina sat up quickly. 

“You took your time,” Yukina said with a hint of playfulness. 

“There were lots of people who had to go home still!” Lisa said with a giggle. “They’re all gone now, though. I’ll just have to clean up the kitchen tomorrow so I can use the table again.” 

Walking over to the bed, Lisa sat down next to Yukina. Finally given the chance to spend time together, Lisa took advantage of the privacy and leaned against Yukina’s side. In response, Yukina began petting the fur on Lisa’s jacket. 

“If Roselia ends up doing that Halloween show,” Yukina mumbled, “you should wear this.” 

Lisa didn’t say anything in response. Leaning into Yukina, the bassist found comfort being in the presence of her closest friend. When Lisa got tired of sitting up, she leaned back against the cushions of her bed. Yukina followed suit, and somehow the two of them found themselves cuddling with one another. Minutes went by, and Yukina got her hands on one of Lisa’s blankets and pulled it across the two of them. 

Lisa could feel the beating of her heart hammering against her chest, and she wished it would stop being so noisy. The only other sound around her was Yukina’s soft breaths, though the quiet was interrupted when Yukina lifted her head to look back at Lisa. 

“Can you put on some music?” the vocalist asked, cat ears still on her head. “I don’t care what it is-- anything works.”

Letting go of Yukina long enough to turn and grab her phone, Lisa began cycling through her playlists. She wasn’t in the mood to listen to any more Halloween music, despite the holiday not being over, but she found something that she liked a lot more that would last a while. 

Hitting play on her Roselia playlist,  _ Heroic Advent _ began to play through her room. 

As if to say she was satisfied, Yukina pulled Lisa close as she put her phone back down on the side table beside her bed. Pulling back into the embrace, the two of them stayed snuggled under the blanket as the song continued to play. Yukina’s slow breaths were no longer the only sound she could hear, but she kept her hearing fixed upon the sound anyways. She was comforted by Yukina’s voice and her soft touch.

It seemed it was a false sense of comfort, however, as Yukina immediately picked up a pillow the moment Lisa found her eyes closing. Yukina hit Lisa with the pillow, getting a resounding  _ oof  _ sound from the bassist. As Lisa pulled the pillow away, she grinned at Yukina.

“Is that what all this was? Buttering me up so you could win a pillow fight?” 

Yukina was basking in the glory of surprising Lisa. Holding onto one pillow, she watched as Lisa picked up the other sitting upon her bed. Getting hit against the side of her face, Yukina’s cat ears flew to the other side of the bed. She gasped as she looked over at Lisa, who wore a shit-eating grin. 

“Betrayer!”

One pillow hit exploded into a pillow war between the two girls. Yukina’s pillow hits didn’t have much force behind them, but she knew exactly where to hit Lisa to make it count. Lisa, on the other hand, was just trying to prove to Yukina that she shouldn’t have lured her into a false sense of comfort. It felt like they were kids again, beating the pulp out of each other with pillows. 

Lisa craved the sense of kindness and purity that the two of them had when they were kids. She couldn’t help but wonder-- where did they go wrong? What caused them to lose the friendship that they had for so long, forcing them to rebuild again? After another resounding smack of the pillow against her face, Lisa put her pillow down.

“Hey, Yukina,” Lisa muttered. “Don’t you miss this type of stuff?” 

Yukina stared at Lisa in silence with only the music breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” 

“Don’t you miss getting together?” Lisa asked. “Seeing one another all the time, making music together…”

She took Yukina’s hands as  _ Sanctuary  _ began playing. 

“...I feel like we have so much lost time to make up for!” 

Looking down at her hands, a small blush crept up on Yukina’s face.

“I suppose we do.” 

Slowly, Lisa reached towards the blanket sitting at the end of her bed and unfolded it slowly. Yukina never took her eyes off of Lisa as she threw the blanket over the two of them. The two of them were leaning on each other to the point where their arms were touching, and as if they never had the pillow fight, they were curled up closer to each other than before. 

Their noses were touching, and Lisa raised a hand to Yukina’s face. Brushing a thumb against Yukina’s cheek, Lisa’s cat-like smile spread across her face.

“We should do this more often.”

Though Yukina’s eyes were closed, the smile she returned to Lisa seemed to be brimming with emotion. 

They laid beside each other for the rest of the night, wrapped up in one another’s embrace. 

~~~

Someone else was also queueing a playlist of Roselia music, but she wasn’t planning on falling asleep anytime soon. As the intro to  _ Ringing Bloom  _ began, Sayo was starting up her computer to get on NFO. Putting a headset on so she didn’t disturb Hina, she logged into the game as quickly as her computer would allow. Moving her mouse to hover over where the friends icon would momentarily appear, Sayo wanted to get on as soon as possible. 

After all, if what Rinko said was true, then she couldn’t miss the event gear.

As soon as the server opened up, Sayo opened the friends menu and noticed that the phoenix wizard was online. She opened the chat menu and punched in two letters.

_ VC?  _

It took Sayo a while to pick up on the gaming language, but she learned quickly that ‘VC’ meant ‘voice-chat’, which was an easy method of communication, especially since typing during a dungeon crawl became exhausting on the fingers. 

_ I’ll be on right away (`・ω・´ ) !! Finishing off a few lich minions at the graveyard if you want to meet me there! _

Thankfully Sayo had been playing already during the Halloween event, or else she wouldn’t have known where the haunted graveyard special location was. Opening her map to make sure she was going the right way, she headed across the open plains until the graveyard was in sight. By the time she got there, Rinko sent a voice call request. 

“Shirokane-san, I’m glad you’re here,” Sayo said with a smile. “How many bosses have you taken down?” 

“As many as I could on my own,” she responded quickly, the sound of rustling papers appearing picking up from her end of the microphone. “I still need to take down the wolf lord of Breckham, the pumpkin king, Lich of Strydos, and the black dragon raid boss.”

Sayo pulled up her quest list and realized she had a lot more to defeat. Had it not been for Rinko’s low defense, she probably would’ve defeated the other four too.

“Can you help me defeat the swampland witch and the grizzled pirate? The witch has too high of defense for me to kill alone, and I haven’t saved up enough money in-game to purchase a boat. If I remember correctly, when we are in a party we can sail together?” 

Rinko’s character did a little dance on screen, which ended with her casting a small spell. 

“You can borrow my boat! If we make enough gold killing other bosses, perhaps we can get you outfitted with your own boat?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Sayo said as she got an invite to board Rinko’s boat.

It was going to be a long night for both of them, but it was a night that Sayo was excited for. Not only would she get the event items for playing on Halloween, but she’d get to spend more time with Rinko. 

She wasn’t going to tell anyone about her ulterior motive, but it made Sayo happy to know that she’d have that night to talk to Rinko without anyone around to get in their way. 

**Author's Note:**

> Pain! I'd die for these ships.  
> (Especially Sayorinko! Where is the content please fandom feed me)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Like I said, I'm new to this site, so please be kind to me  
> I'm not good at writing super shippy stuff so I couldn't do Yukilisa justice I'm so sorry-- I'll probably need to write more in the future to make up for it!
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos if you liked it... positive encouragement warms a writer's heart <3 <3


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